SARA LEE: A FUNK PHENOMENON

	Nobody does it like Sara Lee - the bassist, that is. 
 With a résumé that includes the Indigo Girls, Ani DiFranco, B-52’s, 
Gang of Four, Thompson Twins and League of Gentleman, the 
forty-one-year-old Brit has rightfully earned the title "bass slut,"  
playfully given to her by Ani DiFranco.  The only other female bassist 
who comes close in comparison (having played with David Bowie, Tears 
for Fears, Boy George, Sophie B. Hopkins and Donny Osmond) is Gail Ann
Dorsey, who happens to be Sara’s ex-girlfriend of four years.

Overcoming Sexism in Music
Lee has plucked her grooves in a predominantly male-centered music biz
 and bass world for the  past twenty years.  Long before the current 
Woman in Rock era, Lee had established her professional career in the 
testerone-ridden rock ‘n’ roll world.  Sara recounts, "There weren’t 
many women bassists during my time…I dealt with my fair share of studio 
engineers and producers who looked at me and though, ‘You’re the bass 
player?’…There was one record with Gang of Four where they actually 
replaced my part while I was out of the studio for a couple of hours." 
Even nowadays, Lee experiences sexism in the boys’ club.  "I did a 
studio session last year in L.A. surrounded by these heavyweight 
session guys and the guitar player said, ‘You’re the…? Oh, you’re the 
bass player. Okay’  But then the next day he said. ‘Wow, you really 
play well with the drummer.’  And I was like, ‘That’s what I do, you 
know.’"  Lee’s immense talent has dissolved sexist barriers in the 
music industry and made her a much sought-after bassist.  Lee’s 
reputation precedes her - She finds that she often works with artists 
who already know her work and like her style of playing.  Based on 
word-of-mouth endorsements, Lee has been pursued by the likes of the 
Robyn Hitchcock Band, the B-52’s and Ani DiFranco, among other big 
names in music.

Indigo Girls
With the Indigo Girls, however, serendipity played a big role in 
initiating their working relationship.  In 1988, when Lee was in the 
studio with her band The Raging Hormones, Scott Litt, the Indigo Girls’
 future producer, was in the same studio next door with R.E.M.  He 
heard Sara playing and then two years later, when  the Indigo Girls 
needed a bassist for Nomads, Indians, Saints, he thought of Lee.  
Sara remembers that "it was very lucky because Raging Hormones was a 
very funky band.  We happened to be recording a ballad that day.  He 
heard my melodic side with my bass and felt it would be very appropriate 
for the Indigo Girls.  If I’d been playing a funky song, I probably 
wouldn’t have gotten the job.  It was one of those fortuitous moments."
After the initial collaboration, Lee’s own spunk helped establish a 
long-running relationship.  Lee didn’t expect to see the Indigo Girls 
after she recorded Nomads with them, because "very often as a 
session player you record a record and you never see the artist again."  
But about six months later, she saw that the Indigo Girls were playing 
in New York, where she lives, so she decided to check out their live 
performance.  "So I went to see them, and of course I was blown away.  
I was sitting in the audience and I was just hearing my bass lines 
that I’d done on the record.  And I though, ‘This is a tragedy that 
I’m not playing these lines with them.’ So I went backstage to see 
them after the show and told them I really enjoyed the show, but the 
only thing was that I wished I was playing with them.  They said, ‘Do 
you want to play tomorrow night?’ And I said sure.  So I did the second 
show in NY with them and I got on the bus and I’ve been on the bus 
ever since."
Lee has an "extremely compatible" relationship with the Indigo Girls, 
largely due to the creative freedom they bestow upon her.  "They love 
what I do and I love what they do.  When I started working with them 
in 1990, they just said ‘Make up your own bass line.’"  The Indigo 
Girls foster this spontaneous spirit on stage as well, something Lee 
really appreciates.  "They were the first band that for me took risks 
on stage.  They invite friends up when they’re in a town; they’re far 
more adventurous than anybody else I’ve played with in terms of 
getting on stage and having a good time, taking musical risks and 
not being worried if we make a mistake.  They were definitely a band 
that I could improvise with to a certain degree," Lee remarks admiringly.
And after seven years of working with the Indigo Girls, Lee has 
developed a strong friendship with them.  Such a good friendship, in 
fact, that Amy Ray visited her several times while she was on tour 
with Ani DiFranco in 1996 (even making cameo appearances with Ani).  
"We missed each other.  Amy was also a big fan of Ani’s music…and I 
think she was missing playing music and playing with a band and being 
out there.  I think there was a number of things that converged and 
she thought ‘I’ll go out on the road for a while.’"

Ani DiFranco
During the Indigo Girls’ hiatus in 1996, Lee joined Ani DiFranco’s 
traveling roadshow.  Apparently, DiFranco feels lucky to have had Lee 
around. "Touring with somebody is pretty much like having your heads 
duct-taped together and being put in a cardboard box for months.  It’s 
very intense, and I’ll tell ya, there’s pretty much no one I’d rather 
be in that box with than Sara.  She’s a babe."
Lee feels similarly about her experience with DiFranco.  "I had an 
absolute blast playing with her," she exclaims.  Part of the fun, 
according to Lee, was feeling like a primary member of the band.  "It 
was very different from the Indigo Girls.  The Indigo Girls are very 
much Amy and Emily and then we’re the backup band.  To play with Ani 
felt much more like a band, especially when we started to jam around 
in sound checks and start coming up with ideas that she then wrote 
songs from.  I’d be playing a groove with the drummer.  She’d like it 
and she’d jump in and play the guitar and then we’d start expanding on 
it.  And I actually was able to sing - I love to sing."
Musically, it was a perfect fit between Lee and DiFranco.  "It was a 
very funky, groovy musical situation, which is very appealing to me.  
Ani’s definitely inclined to be funky.  She just didn’t have a bass 
player playing with her and backing it up and strengthening the groove."  
So enter Sara Lee for some strong groove support and out comes "a 
really rocking outfit."  Though it was just a three-piece band, "it 
was a very powerful unit.  It was very exciting to be playing that 
music and knocking them dead.  It’s a very rare and exciting thing for 
a session musician to have that experience.  I loved it." Lee merged 
efforts again with Ani on her newest studio album, set for release in 
fall.  Both Lee and DiFranco hope to work together in the future.

Working with Lesbian Icons
Lee’s long and fruitful career in music has been interwoven with a 
large lesbian following of the artists with whom she has worked.  She 
is very grateful for what this support has given her, which is "a 
mutually supportive community of women - friends, peers, and fans - 
from which you can gain strength." The lesbian/women’s community that 
surrounds Lee has been a source of positivity for her.  "It’s been 
very empowering to work with strong, motivated women.  It’s a constant 
source of inspiration."
After twenty years in music, what else is left for Lee to do?  Her own
work, naturally - the next step for this talented musician is to 
produce her own album.  And judging from the wealth and diversity of 
Lee’s musical experiences, it’s likely to be fun, fresh and definitely 
funky.  In the meantime, we can count on Sara Lee to spice up the 
music world and keep the low end grooving strong.